Former Cardiff City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has told the Bluebirds they are not the measuring stick of the Championship.

Former Cardiff City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has told the Bluebirds they are not the measuring stick of the Championship.

Schmeichel – son of the former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeping great Peter – made 14 appearances for Cardiff while on loan from Manchester City during the 2007-08 season.

The 26-year-old’s nomadic career has since taken in stops at Coventry, Notts County and Leeds among others, but it is at Cardiff’s promotion rivals Leicester where he has really found his feet in making nearly 80 appearances.

And, ahead of Cardiff’s crunch trip to the King Power Stadium on Saturday, Schmeichel has insisted that the visit of his former club is no bigger than any other Championship fixture.

“Cardiff have been one of the most consistent teams and are up there as number one.

“But in the Championship I would not bet on anything with confidence.” As if to underline Schmeichel’s point, league leaders Cardiff were stunned 2-1 by bottom club Peterborough last weekend – their first home defeat of the season after a record-busting 10 successive wins – while Leicester were grateful for a last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw with lowly Barnsley.

“Those results don’t make our match against Cardiff any bigger,” said Schmeichel, whose Leicester side trail Cardiff by seven points.

“It’s big enough anyway. The old cliché is that you just dust yourself down and get on with it. That’s all you can do.

“We are still very much in the mix. If you look back at the sides who have made a good push in the past they have remained in the mix throughout.

“That is where you need to be around this time, now we need to go on a run.

“Teams need to peak at the right time. That is what we are hoping to do, stay in the mix, build some momentum and then go on a run.”

Fifth-placed Leicester follow up the visit of Cardiff by travelling to in-form Hull on Boxing Day. “Our next two matches are huge and victories would put us in a great position,” said Schmeichel.

Gallery: Cardiff City beat Leicester City in the Carling Cup on penalties

“That is what we have to do and, to be fair, we have played all right.

“These games are important because if we beat both of them then we are right up there.

“But nothing has been won yet and it is important we build a run at the right time.

“It is not too late for us to challenge for the top two by any stretch of the imagination.

“We have to keep plugging away. If we are as positive as we have been in the last few games we will get more wins than defeats.

“I felt we shouldn’t have lost at Millwall and it was an annoying goal to concede.

“We have defended so well, but every now and then you get a little mistake and someone is in.

“It is frustrating, but defensively overall we have been very good and going forward we keep creating chances.

“It would be great to get the win we need against Cardiff.

“Results haven’t really gone the way we wanted them to in the last couple of games.

“It is very important we pick up some wins soon, have a good Christmas period so we can set ourselves up for 2013.”

As Cardiff welcome back skipper Mark Hudson following their Posh shocker – Matthew Connolly is set to switch to right-back – the Foxes hope to have former Sunderland striker Martyn Waghorn available again.

Waghorn, 22, missed the Millwall defeat after having his appendix removed and former England striker David Nugent is also fit after recovering from a slipped disc in his neck.

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